Check-valve for water-gages.



No. 850,483. I PATENTED APR. 16, 1907.

' G. E. MISER.

CHECK VALVE FOR WATER GAGES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1907.

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CHARLES E. MISER, F WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

CHECK-VALVE FUR WATER wAGES= Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application filed January 5. 1907. Serial No. 350,881.

- breaking or removal of the gagelass.

The invention relates particu arly to improvements in the devicesdescribed and shown in Letters Patent of the United States grante'dtoWilliam S. Pitts, Charles A. Tanv ner, and Floyd G. Spink, numbered838,055,

dated December 11,1906.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple check-valve and astop-cock combined in a one-part casing capable of being connecteddirectly to a boiler or like part, the said check-valve having no directmechanical connection with the said casing or with any other parts ofthe device.

A further object .of the invention is to pro- I vide a check-valve whichwill close a port or passage leading from the boiler to the water gagequickl upon the breaking of the gageglass and t us prevent loss or Wasteof the boiler-pressure or damage to the surroundings; and a furtherobject is to-provide means entirely independent of said checkvalve forforcing and holding the same open during intervals in which thegage-glass or casing is being blown or cleaned out.

The invention consists principally in providing a check-valve in theform of a metallic .ball or globe and disposing the same in a horizontalchamber extending between the gage and the boiler in such manner that atthe. instant the .glass breaks the ball will be forced by the pressureinto a seat, thereby preventing the steam and water from escaping andpermitting the engineer to install a new glass in a safe and convenientmanner.

A further feature consists in arranging the interior of the casing sothat the ball will gravitate away from its seat shortly after a newglass has been installed without assistance from any one.

, The invention further consists in providing simple means'in connectionwith the sto cock whereby. the ball check-valve may e moved and heldaway from its seat for. the purpose of blowing out the gage partswhenever desired; and the invention further consists in providing asimple shield for the protection of. the gage-glass.

Other features and parts of the invention will be fully understood fromthe detail description which follows and from the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in Which Figure 1 is a view,partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a pair of mycheckvalves and a water-gage combined, also showing the shieldsurrounding the gageglass. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section ofone of the valves, showing the checkcheck-valve unseated. Fig. 4 is aplan view of the lower valve, showing the grooved flange which receivesand sup orts the glass-shield. Fig. 5 is a view of t e central port,substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, showing by-pass or duct formedin the checkvalve seat.

Similar reference characters are assigned to corresponding partsthroughout the sev eral figures.

In the drawin s, A re resents the uppermost valve comp ete, B thelowermost valve, and C the glass tube comprising the waitergage, whichis dis osed between and may be. connected with t. e said valves in anysuitable manner.

2 represents the casings of the valves A and B, which are preferablymade of tough brass and formed so as to provide one horizontal and onevertical chamber (designated by. the numerals 3 and 4, respectively.)The two chambers in each casing are separated by a vertical wall 5, thelatter being perforated centrally to provide a circular passage or port6, through which water and steam may flow from the boiler throughchamber 3 into gage-chamber 4.

7 represents external threading on the inner end of the casing 2 for usein connecting the. valves to a boiler.

The casings of valves A and B are made or formed exactly alike and aretherefore interchangeable; but when they areinstalled with a water-gagethe upper casing is inverted, as

- The object of this opening is-to permit of the insertion or removal ofthe check-valve or ball '11. The threaded portion of the plug 10 isformed to a length which will allow the ball in the lower casing tostand upon it when not seated'in the same position with relation tov thecenter of port 6 as does the ball in the upper or inverted casing. Aboss 12 is formed on the outside of each casing central with the closedend of the vertical chamber 4, and a threaded hole 13 is made througheach boss.

The glass tubes of all water-gages become clouded and dirty after theyhave been in use for a time and therefore require frequent cleansing. Inorder to provide simple and eflective means for such cleaning out thelowermost valve-casing is equipped with a blow-out cock 14, which isscrewed tightly into the threaded hole 13. As only one blowout cock isrequired in a device of this kind, the threaded hole in the upper casingA is tightly closed by the insertion of a plug 15. If for any reason itis desired to reverse the position of the two valves, plug 15 may be'removed and cook 14 substituted, and then the upper valve: is ready forservice in the lower osition.

At t e front end of each casing a threaded opening 16 is made throughthe wall leading to chamber 4, directly in linewith the interior port 6,into which a flanged bushing 17 is fitted. This bushing forms part of astufiing-box which supports the guide-stem 18 of stop-cock 19. Agland-nut 20 closes the outer end of said bushing, and a hand-wheel 21is suitably fitted to the outer end' of stem 18. The inner end of thestop-cock is made cone-shaped to fit a countersunk seat forming theouter end of the port 6. A similar seat is formed at the inner end ofport 6 to receive the ball or check-valve 11 when the pressure from theboiler seats the same. 22 represents aninwardly-projecting tine or part,preferably formed integrallyand centrally with stop-cock 19. This tineor part should be made a little longer than the thickness of the wall 5,so that when the stop-cock is screwed inwardly the said tine will engageand unseat the ball-valve before the stopcock itself is seated. Theobject of this feature is to provide a simple means for unseating andholding the ball away from the mouth of. ort 6 at times when theengineer desires to filow out the gage-glass. It will be observed thatthe construction and arrangement of the valve parts are such that whenthe stop-cock is screwed outwardly far enough to leave a free passagethrough port 6 that the tine 22 will also be drawn. outward through saidport a sufficient distance to permit the ball to take its seat in caseany emergency should arise, such as the breaking of the gage-glass orthe-opening of the blow-out cock connected with the lower casing.

23 represents a small duct or by-pass formed in each check-valve seat atthe inner end of port 6, (see Fig. 5,) provided .for the 1purpose ofallowing a slight flow or feed of oth water and steam through said portsinto the gage-ch ambers. These ducts are employed to effect thebalancing of the pressure in a newly-installed gage-glass, and'they aremade small, so there will not be a sudden inrush of the hot fluid, whichmight cause the breaking-of the unseasoned or untempered glass.

Frequently when a gage-tube bursts the glass is broken into smallpieces, which are thrown with great force in every direction andsometimes injure persons who happen to be in the immediate vicinit Inorder'to ard against such injury, have provided each of theeasings witha flange 24, which surrounds the walls of the vertical chamber 4 andform in the outer face thereof a groove 25, into which a detachableshield 26, prefer ably made of thin flexible sheet brass or tin, isplaced. At a convenient point in the circle of the flange 24a notch 27isformed for. the

purpose of providing means for inserting the shield. The notch 27extends inwardly beyond groove 25, and therefore permits of the shieldbeing entered at either of the open ends of said groove. The metal ofthe shield should be flexible enough to readily follow and conform tothe small circle of the groove when forced inwardly by hand. The shieldmay bereadily and quickly removed after the breaking of a glass topermit of the installing of a new one and then replaced in the .mannerdescribed. The shield is made from a sheet of metal of less width thanrequired to form a complete tube when disposed 1n the groove 25,'andwhen placed'in position as de-' scribed a slottedopening 28 appears inthe front side, through which a view of the gage glass may be obtainedwhenever desired; but this slot should not be large enough to allow theparticles of a broken glass to escape and cause any damage or injury.

In practice my safetv-valves are attached to a boiler in substantiallythe position and relation as shown in Fig. 1. After thevalves have beensecured to the boiler and the gage.- glass in stalledthe shield 26- isthen cut and put in place. heneverything is'in readiness for steamingup, the engineer will turn hand-wheels 21 to the left until theshoulders of cocks 19 come to a stop against the inner end of bushings17. Then the passages or ports 6 will be open and free, and'tines 22will be drawn forward far enough to allow balls 11 to take their seatsin case such action becomes necessary' As long as the gage-glass remainsintact the pressure in the boiler and gage parts will be balanced orequalized, and

. their seats by gravity and during such intervals will stand in,substantially the ositipn shown in Figs. 1 and 3'. Nothing in t eordinary working-of a boiler or gage mechanism can cause the seating ofthe balls. They may roll around to some extent within the enlargedortion of cavity 3 but they cannot get out o? the ath of the pressure.instant that the gage-glass breaks or upon the opening of blowout-cock14 the force of the pressure from the boiler seeking an escape as soonas the equilibrium has been destroyed will force or lift the balls inboth of the casings and carry them into their respective seats, as shownin Fig. 2. The balls being considerably larger than the ports 6 andbeing truly spherical readily fit the said seats and closev the circularorts and prevent any violent outrush of t e steam and water. There willbe a slight dripping or oozing of .the fluid through the small groovedducts 23; but the volume will not be great enough to injure anything orto seriously interfere with the insta ling of a new glass.

To cleanse the glass, blowout-cock 14 should be opened. The instant saidcock is opened the balls in both casings will become seated, and as theamount of water and steam which may pass through the small ducts in thecheck-valve seats will not be sufficient to eflect the, cleaning of theglass the engineer will then screw inthe stop-cock in the upper casinguntil tine 22 pushes the ball away from its seat far enough to allow astrong stream of steam to pass into the gagechamber, and thus accomplishthe washing of the glass. After the glass has been cleaned he shouldscrew the upper stop-cock outwardly/ until it strikes the stop referredto and at the same time close the blowout-cock. The ball in the uppercasing will then take its seat and both balls will remain seated untilequilibrium of the pressure is restored in the gage parts, after whichthey will gravitate away from ports 6, as described.

The construction of my check-valves is very simple. They are practicallyselfcleaning and indestructible and not likely to get out of order. I

Obviously many of the details and parts may be changed or modifiedWithin the scope defined by the appended claims, and I therefore do notrestrict myself to the precise construction ,and arrangement of thedevice as described and shown herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1.A safety device of the class described,

' comprising a pair of interchangeable casings interiorly divided toform two chambers con- At the forming a fluidassage for one casing tothe other, a pair 0 free s herical check-valves disposed in correspon mgchambers in said casings adapted to be simultaneously seated in said ortor passage and thereby allow only a sight flow of fluid from thecheckvalve chambers into the other chambers when said gage-glass breaks,the said checkvalves adapted to be unseated simultaneously by gravitywhen a new gage-glass has been installed, a flange having a grooveforming part of'a. circle formed on each of said casings concentric withsaid gage-glass, and a shield comprising a\sheet of metal adapted onlyto be inserted in said grooves after said casings have been attached toa boiler and thereby form a shield to artly surround said gage-glass,substantia ly as described.

2. A safety device of the class described,

comprising a pair of interchangeable casings threaded at their innerends to connect wlth a. boiler, and interiorly divided to form an innerand an outer chamber in each casing,

the inner chamber communicating 'with the boiler by means of a reducedpassage or opening, the said chambers being connected with each other bya central port disposed in line with said reduced passage gr opening,and each of said casings provided with a threaded opening formed throughthe wall leadin to the inner chamber, a gage-glass supported by andconnecting the outer chambers of said casings, free check-valves capableof being inserted into said inner chambers through said threaded oenings and confined therein by screw-plugs 'tting said threadedopenings, the check-valve inthe lower casing adapted when at rest tostand upon the inner end of said screw-plug, and the check-valve in theupper casing adapted when at rest to stand upon the lower floor of theinner chamber, in

a position opposite the screw-plug, a flange having a groove formingpart of a circle formed on each casing concentric with said gageglass,and a sheet of metal adapted to be inserted in said groove after thecasings have been attached to a boiler, for the purpose of IIO forming ashield to partly surround said gageglass, substantially as described.

3. A safety device of the class described, comprising interchangeablecasings threaded at one end to connect with a boiler, andinteriorlydivided to form horizontal and vertical chambers, thehorizontal chambers communicating with the boiler by means of an unrestricted opening or a'ssage having a smaller area than said c iamber,the chambers of each casing being connected by a port dis osed in linewith said 0 ening or assage, an each casing provide with at readedopening leading to the horizontal chamber, a gagelass connecting thevertical chambers nected by a port or passage, a water-gage of saicasings,asphericalcheck-valve capable of being inserted into saidhorizontal chamsaid grooves after the casings have been sebers throughsaid threaded openings and cured to'a boiler, substantially asdescribed. 10 confined therein by screw-plugs fitting said In testimonywhereof I. aflix my sIgnature threaded openings, a flange formed on eachin presence of'two Witnesses;

casing having a groove forming part of a CHARLES E. MISER- circleconcentric with said gage-glass, and a Witnesses: I shield comprising athin sheet of metal HARRY DE WALLACE, adapted to be inserted in andremoved from EDGAR V. Bnoobouen.

